


Would You Go With Me?

by beatitupright



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, MMORPGs, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-24 18:14:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19729087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beatitupright/pseuds/beatitupright
Summary: Garrett Hawke's life is becoming a monotonous routine that's driving him into the ground. The new distraction he finds from life as an adult out on his own turns out to be one big massive multiplayer online roleplay adventure.





	1. The Beginning of the End

It’s a Friday and Garrett sits in a ratty computer chair. His hair is disheveled, his pajama pants are one size too large, and his shirt is missing. A passing thought about the general area of his torso being chilly crosses his mind, but he doesn’t rise from his trashed throne to do anything about it.  
  
He glances at the clock, takes the few moments he’s always required to do simple math, and deduces he has exactly four hours until work. Somehow, even with a total of four hours to spare, his life feels in limbo. He is watching the minutes tick by, gently twisting back and forth in his chair while slumped into an exhausted shape it can barely hold. 

There is a noise down the hall and Garrett idly identifies it as a bedroom door opening. 

“Hey,” Garrett calls out flatly, lazily.

“Good morning, Gare Bear.” is the response and no sooner is he greeted than the culprit enters his bedroom door frame. 

Isabela is dressed in nothing but a large t-shirt. Her hair is in a bun that has obviously been slept in and she is stretching as she speaks.  
  
“You got work today?” she asks.  
  
“In a few hours,” Garrett replies.  
  
Isabela nods slowly, then rubs her eyes, then just sort of stares at Garrett for a moment. Or past him? It’s hard to tell. Isabela has never been a morning person, but she has about as much of a choice as Garrett does in the “being awake” matter.  
  
“I’ve got work at noon, too,” Isabela proclaims and flops herself down on Garrett’s bed. Boris grunts as he’s shaken from sleep, but realistically her flop barely moves him. His size is quite impressive and sometimes Garrett wonders if he adopted a bear instead of a dog by mistake all those years ago.  
  
For all of the woman Isabela is and is known to be, at the moment she is certainly not attempting to flaunt anything. She is face down, limbs splayed; her shirt is riding up enough to show off her underwear and that _might_ have been sexy if Garett hadn’t seen it so many times before. He has seen Isabela in all manner of nakedness at this point - they’ve lived with one another for three years after all - and so her unmentionables have become very mentionable indeed.  
  
“I don’t want to go…” Isabela whines. “This is my seventh day in a row dealing with drunken men who take their gambling debts out on me. I’m just the bartender! It’s not my fault!”  
  
A small smile creeps across Garrett’s face and he scoffs out a short laugh. He is eternally grateful that he works in a kitchen and not directly with customers. Especially not the customers of a fine establishment like a corner store casino. Well, perhaps it’s more like the corner store is attached to the casino, not an all in one, but nonetheless it brings in the loveliest customers.

“I thought being a therapist was part of the whole bartender gig?” Garrett has now fully turned toward Isabela and he extends a leg to poke her with his big toe.

“I can listen just fine! But some of these guys. Ugh…” She trails off and there's a short silence before she’s flailing around in what seems to be pure, unadultured fury. “They’re just impossible! And some are violent! Do you know how many times security is called in just one night? I call in Aveline constantly. She’s at the bar more than the _patrons_ , Gare.”

The dramatic flailing ceases and Garrett does feel a pang of sympathy, somewhere down in his gut where the numbness of adult living hasn’t quite reached him yet.

“How about I take you out for breakfast?” He offers and pokes his friend a few more times just to make sure she’s still a solid mass and not melting into his mattress out of sheer despair.

Isabela lights up immediately. It’s a very striking change of attitude. “Aw, Gare Bear! You’d do that for me?” Her expression morphs into her usual mischievous smile.

“Anything for you, Bela,” Garrett says and flashes her a grin before standing. As he shoves himself from his spot he grunts miserably. His back cracks in various places. He hears an interesting and concerned sound come from Isabela. It’s all a very riveting experience.

The rest of the morning continues at the same sluggish pace. Garrett takes Isabela out for breakfast, as promised, and then they watch some show she seems to love on Netflix. Garrett hasn’t been paying much attention to the plot save for the few times the main characters have wound up in especially shitty situations. They’re well into season 3, he’s pretty sure, and Isabela is so engrossed she’s just happy to have companionship (despite said companion’s disinterest).

At the moment Garrett is looking at his phone. There’s a little envelope at the top left of the screen indicating he has a text message. It’s been there for hours and he hasn’t checked it, not once. It’s not because he’s scared of what he’ll see if he does. He just hasn’t. That little fact is gnawing at the back of his brain as he scrolls through social media.

There are posts from Aveline starring Donnic. They’re on vacation, a well deserved one too, Garrett thinks to himself as he likes the post. The little pub they’re in is apparently called _The Broken Light_ according to Aveline’s location.

“Strange name,” Garrett thinks aloud. 

“Huh?” Isabela says much louder than she needs to.  
  
“The pub Aveline and Donnic went to. It’s called _The Broken Light_ .”  
  
Garrett doesn’t get an answer. That’s fine of course. He didn’t really expect one. Still, he’s happy for Aveline. It wasn’t too long ago that she was a pining mess for that man. He is rather handsome, Garrett admits, but he doesn’t really understand why he has a hairstyle straight from 1970. And those sideburns? They’re more like side-infernos. Like Disco Inferno. Garret is pretty sure that song is from the 70’s. He laughs because that joke is really good. Isabela, once again, doesn’t pay attention.

+++

It is on his way to work, throughout the work day, and toward the end of his shift that Garrett considers quitting his job. It’s not that the job is particularly hard, but it is vastly unrewarding. Standing in front of a blistering hot grill for eight hours straight with one thirty minute break somewhere around the fourth hour (God willing) is not his idea of a fun Friday afternoon.

It is Merrill who finally breaks him out of this depressive mood, arriving right on time and greeting everyone warmly. She’s a waitress at the cafe, and naturally, everyone’s favorite. She’s especially popular with their elderly crowd, but seeing as she’s working the late shift most of them will be missing her. A right shame to be sure.

“Evening, Merril!” Garrett calls from the kitchen.

Merrill peeks in at him through the order window and greets him with a delighted, “Garrett!” She narrowly misses getting a face full of hot food.

No sooner has Garrett caught a glimpse of her face through the window than she’s made her way into the kitchen. She is so incredibly tiny that Garrett has to fight with himself not to pick her up and twirl her around the kitchen when she gives him a hug. She’s simply too precious.

“It feels like it’s been forever since I got to see you, what with you always working evenings. Now I’m the one working evenings! Do you think there’s someone around here trying to tear us apart?” Merrill taps her lip with her pen and gives Garrett a suspicious look.  
  
“Could be,” Garrett replies as he stirs around ground beef in a skillet, “We do get a bit rowdy around each other.”  
  
Merrill giggles and taps his arm with her pen next. “You’re probably right-” she cuts herself off as she eyes Garrett. Her demeanor softens after a moment. “Hey, Garrett, are you alright?”

“Wh- Oh, yeah. Why?” Garrett sputters, a bit caught off guard by the sudden concern. 

“You don’t look it,” Merrill says bluntly, “Your dark circles have circles.”

Garrett reflexively reaches up to touch his face, only stopping when he realizes that’s not something he wants to do, especially since he’d just washed his hands before handling the food he is currently preparing. His hand hovers awkwardly in front of his face for a moment before he turns back to what he’s cooking.

“I’m fine, really, Merrill,” he says, stirring the beef with far more purpose this time.

“Garrett!” Merrill scolds him, “You always do this, but I know better…” She sounds defeated. Garrett holds onto hope that she is.

It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate her concern, but he’s never been one to complain. Sure, maybe when he’s sick or stubs his toe he’ll let somebody know, but with the deeper stuff? It just seems too personal. Too heavy. The last thing he ever wants to be is a burden to his friends. Merrill knows this and accepts her defeat after a moment of prolonged, pointed staring.

“Fine, but I’m here if you need me, you know that right?” She says, and she sounds eerily like his mother.

After that the last few hours of his shift trudge by, feeling empty despite how busy the evening proves to be. He makes all kinds of food, but he can’t even remember most of the dishes. It’s all so repetitive and ingrained into muscle memory that it takes very little effort to produce anything on the menu. When he’d just started he had been nervous; when he’d gotten his first raise he’d felt so proud of himself. Now it’s as if he isn't even present.

Eventually it is finally time to go home. Home to Isabela (Isabela willing) and Boris and Netflix.

Garrett walks out of the cafe with his apron still on and the crisp evening air hits his face like a nice, refreshing truck. It’s definitely nice to be out of the kitchen, even if he can suddenly feel every ounce of grease currently on his skin. 

“Garrett!” Merrill’s voice graces his ears once more. She must be on break. “Listen, I’ve been thinking. I know exactly what it is you need.”  
  
“What’s that?” Garrett asks and he is genuinely interested, but very tired. It makes his tone sound flat.

“A hobby!” Merrill trills. “And I have just the thing! Do you like video games?”

Garrett hums. He likes them, sure, but he’s never been incredibly invested in one before. Usually he picks one up, enjoys it for the first eight or so hours of gameplay, and then never touches it again. He’s really far too busy to play anything consistently. 

“Yeah, they’re fun,” He finally answers.

“Well, there’s this game I play. It’s an MMO! It’s really fun,” Merrill takes out her notepad- which is usually meant for orders- and scribbles down a name in loopy penmanship, “It’s called Dragonscape.”

Merrill rips out the paper and hands it to Garrett who tentatively looks it over. Honestly, the title itself is hilarious and he’s curious to see just what kind of people await him in the wild wacky world of Dragonscape. He assumes it’s medieval, but instead of asking further questions he simply chuckles and leaves it all up for surprise.

“Alright, maybe I’ll check it out,” he finally responds and folds the paper before shoving it into his jeans pocket.  
  
“I wrote my username on there too! And my Accord ID if you want to add me on there. If you do play please add me! I need more friends!” Merrill chirps and she looks far too excited for Garrett to turn her down.

After giving Merrill a hug goodbye, Garrett finally gets into his truck to make his way back to he and Isabela’s apartment. The low rumble of the engine rattles the old truck’s entire frame, but it’s more pleasant than it is violent. Still, every time it happens Garrett has to wonder just how long Chevrolets are supposed to last. This one in particular used to belong to his dad before he passed away and is as old as his younger siblings (making it old enough to attend its second year of college). It takes a lot of work to maintain it and its brakes take a heavy foot if you’re hoping to stop suddenly, but Garrett wouldn’t dream of letting it fall into anyone else’s hands. There’s a strange attachment the whole family feels to the thing, perhaps because it’s the final piece someone so important to them left behind. 

When Malcolm passed away the Hawke’s had gotten rid of just about everything that had his imprint. Leandra had kept personal items like notes and rings, but the farm and house had gone up for sale almost immediately. Garrett had been old enough to understand that his mother couldn’t possibly run the farm herself, and even if she had wanted to the pain of living there would have been overwhelming. The twins had been more reluctant, but eventually adjusted. 

As Garrett slings his arm over the middle seat, twisting his torso to look behind him, he begins the process of backing out. The parking lot of the cafe is tiny and not very pick-up truck friendly. Somewhere in the back of his mind he can hear Aveline chastising him for sinking so much money into a truck that was meant for country life, not city life. Garrett hadn’t said anything in return, simply shrugged. Aveline means well and knows first hand the grief of losing someone so important, but she’s a different breed. When the car she and Wesley had owned together broke down she’d sold it for what it was worth and invested in something more reliable. If it pained her to do it she never mentioned it.

Once Garrett has successfully removed himself from the parking lot he starts fiddling with the radio. It has a cassette slot and a CD player, but no means of plugging in his phone. Garrett remembers this every time he drives, but always forgets about it when he’s around any CDs for sale. FM radio will have to suffice. As he flips through the channels there are only a few that come in clear enough to actually hear the music, one of them is a country station and he pauses in his channel browsing to hear what song they might be playing. He doesn’t recognize it, but leaves the station on for the remainder of his drive home.

+++

Garrett arrives home, is greeted by Boris, feeds Boris, feeds himself and then stretches out on the couch. It is eight PM when he suddenly remembers he has text messages. Anxiety spikes in his chest and he quickly takes out his phone, the number of messages hasn’t increased so he assumes it wasn’t an emergency, but guilt still wells in his gut.

 _From:_ **_Mom!_ ** _[9:45 AM]: Hey sweetie! We haven’t talked in a while so I was just calling to check on you!_

Sure enough there is a phone icon at the top of the screen with a little arrow bouncing from it to indicate Garrett never picked up. Because he is a bad and terrible son. The guilt is unbearable. Leandra is right, he hasn’t called to talk to her all week.

 _To:_ **_Mom!_ ** _[8:15 PM]: Hey! Sorry I missed your call. And your message. I’ve been really busy ):_

There is no immediate response. Garrett exhales a sigh, drops his phone on his chest, and turns his gaze toward the television. There is a cooking show on and the chefs in this particular establishment are atrocious, apparently. The man trying to help them is pissed off and the kitchen looks a mess. Garrett wonders why he’s watching a show about cooking after eight hours of doing just that and concludes it must be to make himself feel better. These people are terrible. Garrett is a cooking _legend_.

He really has stooped pretty low.

There is no time to lament further because his phone rings and Beck is yelling about how _in the time of chimpanzees he was monkey_ directly into his soul.

“Hello?” Garrett answers and he almost feels bad for how annoyed it sounds. It wasn’t supposed to come out like that.

“Hey, honey!” Leandra is unaffected, “How are things? Are you feeling okay?”  
  
Garrett sits upright and runs a hand over his face. “Yeah, yeah. Just tired. Just got off work.”

There is a tiny “Ohhh…” from the other end of the line and then it goes quiet for just a moment. She must be preoccupied with something. “Well, I was just thinking of you this morning. Every time I talk to you, you sound even more exhausted than the last time.”  
  
“So says you and everyone else around me.” Garrett is trying to perk up to prove he’s not withering to dust, but it’s hard, “Merrill is even trying to get me to play some game with her.”  
  
“Merrill? I didn’t pin her for the game type. But you should do it! Maybe it will help take your mind off things.” Leandra is making noise as she speaks. She’s definitely preoccupied. 

The conversation goes on in a similar fashion for about an hour and a half. Garrett doesn’t mind, his mom always keeps him on the line for hours at a time. It’s kind of nice, it makes him feel cared for despite living thirty minutes away. The conclusion of the talk ends up being that Garrett does in fact need a hobby, that it’s bad for him to sink his entire being into work even if overtime does give him extra spending money.

He digs around in his pocket after he hangs up the phone and procures the note Merrill wrote him. The word _Dragonscape_ is in large letters next to a smiley face along with two usernames. _Daisy#1834_ and _RedDaisy_. Garrett studies these, he knows the one with numbers is an Accord ID as he uses the messenger regularly to talk to a few of his friends. Such as Anders who moved back to Sweden after high school. You can’t very well text someone in another country.

 _RedDaisy_ must be Merrill’s username in game. An interesting choice, but very suiting. Garrett will also need to choose a username, but what that will be evades him at the moment. Despite being a pretty creative guy, names are a whole other ball game.

He is about to rise from his place on the couch and head for his desktop when Isabela practically falls through the front door. She has plastic bags draped over her arms and, after kicking the door shut, makes a b-line for the kitchen. 

“I went shopping for us!” she calls out.

Garrett follows her into the kitchen to help put things away, the clack of Boris’ claws follows him. “Wow, you sure did.” 

“I got about $200 worth of tips tonight, spent a little chunk on keeping us alive,” she’s putting things away as she speaks, “and on this.”

A brown bag is shoved onto the counter and Garrett already knows it is filled to the brim with alcohol. He’d be lying if he claimed he didn’t crave a drink.

“I figured we deserve a drink, you have tomorrow off right?” Isabela continues and Garrett nods, “Perfect, then tonight we drink! Unless you had other plans?” She looks skeptical. It’s hurtful.

“No, not really. Was gonna check out this game Merrill suggested,” he slides her the note and she reads it.

“Dragonscape, huh? Sounds nerdy. Like a game for nerds, Gare.” Isabela is always so blunt. “But maybe drinks would make it more fun!”

Garrett tilts his head in a considerate motion. “I don’t have high hopes, honestly. The alcohol might make it worth it.”

The two of them finish putting the groceries away, Isabela runs to her room to change and Garrett finds the game for download online. The advertisement around the site is impressive, but he’s certain the game itself is not so flashy. The download claims to need at least an hour to shove itself into his hard drive, so in the meantime he adds Merrill on Accord. 

She accepts his request incredibly fast and before he knows it he’s received a message from her.

 **Daisy** : Hello, Garrett! I’m still at work but I can talk a little bit. It’s almost closing time and no one is really here. :)

 **Garrett** : Nice, nice. I’m DLing the game right now. Gonna take a minute though

 **Daisy** : OMG! :D How exciting! I can’t wait to play with you! 

**Daisy** : I play a mage, so if you want to start out with that I could help!

 **Garrett** : Sounds good!

The messages stop there for the moment and Garrett brings up the game client to check out the download. It’s barely moved, of course. Isabela enters his room with a bottle of spiced rum and two glasses. A shot glass for Garrett (sipping on hard liquor isn’t something he’s really a fan of) and a whisky glass for herself (sipping on hard liquor _is_ something she’s a fan of). There is also a soda in the crook of her arm for Garrett to chase with. She knows him so well these days.

“Here you are,” she says as she sets everything down on the desk. Garret thanks her as he pops open his soda. “So, where’s the game?”

“It’s downloading still. Merrill is messaging me about being a mage,” he responds.

“Ooh! A Mage!” Isabela is feigning excitement, but she must be genuinely interested or she wouldn’t be here. Either that or she really is just that desperate for Garrett’s presence. That’s a bit unlikely though. 

Once the download has finished Isabela is on her second glass of rum and Garrett has had two shots, he thinks. He hasn’t really been counting. But once the play button is available Isabela’s rum-influenced excitement seems to spike. She is hardly drunk, but even the slightest bit of alcohol in her system always seems to put her in an excitable mood.

“Let’s do it!” she cheers from Garrett’s bed, which is situated just behind him, and raises her glass in the air. This really doesn’t call for a celebration, but perhaps it’s just that the party follows Isabela wherever she may be.

Garrett makes a noise that’s supposed to convey excitement but it sounds more like a monotone holler. He hits the play button and the screen goes black for a good twenty seconds. Finally, a cutscene plays. It is an incredibly impressive work of art, something to do with the most recent lore. Neither Garrett or Isabela know what's going on, but he can hear her cooing behind him at the pretty visuals. After that, the screen goes black again before cutting to a character creator. 

There are four total races. Humans, elves, dwarves and something called _Qunari_. Garrett flips through them one by one (and changes their gender a few times at Isabela’s request) before defaulting back to a male human. 

“Oh, don’t be so boring!” Isabela scoffs, “choose the big horny guys!”

Garrett chuckles and switches back to the _Qunari_ once more. This race _can_ be a mage, but there is a window of text that pops up whenever he chooses it claiming _The Saarebas_ is an advanced class. That’s a bit spooky. The warning _and_ the name of the class, whatever a _Saarebas_ is.

There’s a hum of hesitation and he glances down at the Accord icon on his taskbar. There is a tiny red blip that indicates a message. He opens the app and finds Merrill has messaged him once more.

 **Daisy** : I’m home! Is the game ready to go?

 **Garrett** : Yeah, I’m creating a character right now. what’s a Saarebas?

 **Daisy** : Oh those were just added in not too long ago. They’re a champion class, kinda advanced. I’d recommend starting with something a bit easier :)

 **Daisy:** Dwarfs can’t be mages ): but elves and humans can! The elves have the best stats for it. That’s what I am!

So she’s an elf? That suits her. Looking at the elf models, though, they’re a little tiny for Garrett’s tastes. He’s a big guy! He likes big things! And when he brings the game back up he switches back to a human male mage once more. Their model is quite buff, a very sexy set of pixels.

“At least they’re cute, I guess,” Isabela chimes in and she’s moved to get closer to the screen, “A little cartoony, but I like all the body hair. It suits you. Give him a beard.”

Garrett scrolls through the options, finds a beard amongst the mustaches and sideburns and chooses it. It’s not… Terrible. But it looks nothing like his own fantastic beard in real life. Either way, it will have to do. He dyes it black, finds a short ponytail style for the hair and decides that looks pretty neat and rugged and rolls with it. Isabela approves.

There is only one more step before he can enter the enchanting world of _Dragonscape_ . He needs a name. Out of curiosity he clicks the _randomize_ button at the bottom of the screen and is greeted with the name _Bonkle_.

The laughter filling the room is immediate and untamed. Garrett is doubled over his desk and Isabela falls onto her back on the bed. Boris comes to investigate, wagging his tail and wanting to join in on this joyous occasion. Garrett twists his chair around to give Boris some attention while wiping tears from his eyes. 

“Please use that name,” Isabela wheezes out through her laughter and points at the screen, “Garrett Hawke I swear if you don’t-”

“Okay, okay…” Garret exhales and turns back to the screen. Without further hesitation he hits accept, the game loads in and he’s placed next to a quest giver alongside other level one characters. He moves about the landscape to get a better look at his character and the laughter erupts again.

And thus, the adventures of Bonkle the male human mage begin.


	2. How to Circumvent Angry Nerds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's guild time.

Garrett’s first night of playing _Dragonscape_ goes extremely poorly by gameplay standards. He and Isabela drink until they can barely keep their eyes open, try to do a few quests with the one drunken brain cell they share, and die upwards of five times. Garrett hardly remembers this in the morning, but he is pleased to find he’s not plagued with a hangover. In fact he feels pretty good.

Boris is taking up most of the space on the bed as usual and Garrett reaches over to scratch his fawn colored fur. Pale sunlight is streaming in through his venitian blinds and striping the two of them with glowing lines. It’s kinda pretty really, but as much as Garrett would love to just lay and look at it, his stomach is protesting against such an action. 

“I gotta get up, buddy,” he says lazily as he pats Boris on the back. Boris responds slowly at first until he realizes Garrett is headed toward the main room of the apartment. That means food, and Boris is always excited for food. 

The two of them make their way into the kitchen. Isabela is nowhere to be seen, but that much is normal. If she isn’t still asleep then she’s out and about doing… Isabela things. Garrett learned not to pry a long time ago. That being the least of his worries, he focuses instead on feeding himself and his unruly _child_ who is jumping around and barking with anticipation. 

Garrett feeds Boris first, filling his bowl before raiding the kitchen for himself. He finds very little in the way of classic breakfast food, but he does come across the pizza rolls Isabela so graciously bought for them last night. He figures food is food and tosses a handful on a paper plate to be microwaved. As he waits for those to finish cooking he grabs a water from the fridge and empties it in just a few gulps. Hydration after that much drinking is important.

Three minutes later and Garrett has a plate full of hot pizza rolls. Before leaving the kitchen he grabs a soda for himself and then retreats back into his room. Armed with his breakfast (that is more like a snack if he’s being honest with himself) he takes a seat and checks Accord first and foremost. Merrill has sent him a slew of messages talking about the game’s lore and has sent him a link to a basic mage build for his character. Garrett opens the link, takes one look, and decides it is far too much for his brain to understand this early. Or ever. He also has a message from Anders.

**Anders**   
I play that game too. Had no idea you were into that stuff.

Garrett is confused for a moment before he looks at the message right above Anders’ reply. It is an innocent message simply filling Anders in on his new gaming agenda. That much he is thankful for, because he doesn’t remember typing it at all.

Ultimately he decides to reply to everyone later and loads up _Dragonscape_ to give it another, much more sober, shot.

The game loads in and Garrett is greeted with an interesting landscape. He zooms in on his character and recalls his impeccable choices. Also the name hovering above his head makes him chuckle again. He’s not sure where in this blocky world of pixels to go, and so he takes a look at his quest log. He has a very simple quest to kill ten darkspawn. Whatever those are. 

It takes Garrett a full two minutes to realize his mini map has an arrow pointing to his selected quest, and thus he spends those two minutes running in the wrong direction. Eventually, though, he finds himself in the correct area. These darkspawn he’s been told to kill are ugly little bastards, but no match for the one spell he has been given on his quickbar. Killing ten of them takes no time at all. He returns to the quest giver and the rest of his morning is a rinse and repeat of such an experience.

After a few hours he has reached level ten, gotten a new staff, a few new spells, and a robe that looks absolutely horrible. Still, it’s progress and somehow the repetitive nature of the game hasn’t worn on him yet. The 3D space his character is in is interesting to explore at the very least. There is one thing that does grab his attention, though. As soon as level ten is within his grasp, a window pops up on his screen informing him of dungeons. Garrett is entirely ignorant to what that means, but the option to queue is staring him in the face.

Unaware of what exactly a dungeon entails Garrett queues. Another box pops up informing him of the estimated time it will take to find others to do this dungeon with him. At the moment the little window reads two minutes. Garrett blinks at the timer and then leans back in his chair, popping one of his last few pizza rolls in his mouth. Boris noses the hand limp at his side and he pets him. Nothing is really happening for a moment.

And then a horn blares in Garrett’s ears. He jumps out of his skin and even puts a hand on his chest. Looking at his screen he sees that apparently his dungeon is ready, and after a moment of recollecting himself he presses the _enter dungeon_ button. This teleports his character to a new area with four other people at his side. There is another caster of some sort, what looks to be a rogue, another rogue, and a warrior. The warrior immediately leads the charge, the other three follow and then Garrett trails behind them. 

The first half of the dungeon is pretty easy. They kill darkspawn- this Garrett is familiar with- and the other caster proves to be a healer. No one dies; they’re mowing through the dark cavern they’re in, and all is well. Until they reach a monster with an absolutely massive model. The monster looks like a dragon, which is pretty neat, Garrett thinks, but this is where the problems begin and Garrett’s dungeoning escapades end.

Within the first few moments of the fight, Garrett is dead on the ground. The other four are left to fend for themselves. That is, until he gets a prompt asking if he would like to accept being resurrected. Garrett hits accept.

Garrett dies again.

Chat lights up, the bright orange text catches Garrett’s attention out of the corner of his eye, and in that beautiful sunset color he is being called all manner of terrible things. This confuses him until their beloved tank stops the insults and gets to the part where _Bonkle has been doing shit damage this whole time anyway. Let’s just kick him_.

And just like that he finds himself where he started before the dungeon began. Garrett is left feeling confused and a bit hurt, but mostly surprised. He looks to Boris and says “People take this _a lot_ more seriously than I expected. Ouch.”

Again, Garrett opens Accord and checks his messages. He has no new ones, but he still needs to respond to both Merrill and Anders. He picks Anders first, much easier to respond to that one.

**Garrett**   
yea? What do you play?

Then he tabs over to Merrill’s chat and stares at all of the information bombarding him once more. Skimming through he picks up on that in this game you are the champion of some just cause, and the most recent threat to the world is a magister by the name of Corypheus. Apparently all of the champions, or players, are doing all they can to stop this guy, but Garrett is such a low level that he is stuck in an earlier expansion? It’s all very confusing. He doesn’t dare touch the _basic mage build_ link again.

**Garrett**   
yea okay. But what's up everybody’s ass in this game? I got kicked out of a dungeon just now and called a lot of really mean things ):

The frowny face will get Merrill on his side no doubt.

+++

At around one o’clock Isabela arrives home. At this point Garrett is in the living room in his usual spot on the couch. She greets him, he returns it, and then she disappears into her room. She only returns once she’s changed into something more comfortable. She takes a seat next to him.

“So, did you give up on the game, then?” she asks as she tucks her feet up under her.

“Nah, I played it this morning, but I got kicked out of a dungeon for being bad at the game,” Garret replies.

Isabela laughs, very loudly, and Garrett chuckles as well. “I guess those nerds don’t fuck around, huh? Kinda weird, getting all angry over a game.”

Garrett shrugs in response.

“Well, no one asked but my day has been wonderful so far,” Isabela smirks and looks down her nose at Garrett playfully. “One of my regulars offered to take me out sailing. I saw him today, in fact. He took me out to coffee and told me some long story about this and that and I pretended to listen so I could go on his boat.”

Garrett’s eyes move from the TV screen to Isabela. He raises his eyebrows. “Wow… Are you sure that’s safe, though?”

“Oh yeah. I could definitely take this guy if I had to. Two years of self defense classes, remember?” She doesn’t sound worried at all.

Garrett can’t help the concern he feels every time she’s on one of her little escapades. Again, though, he knows better than to ask too many questions. “When are you going?” is probably the last one he is allowed.

“In a few months when the weather is nicer, he said. We’ll see if he keeps that promise.” As she says this she grabs the remote and begins perusing shows. Garrett takes that as the conversation ending.

The two of them sit in silence for a while. Isabela is watching her shows and Garrett is _sort of_ watching her shows. As they are relaxing Garrett gets a message. It’s from Merrill.

**Daisy**   
Oh yeah, people can be really mean!! ),: I’m sorry Garrett, maybe if you had a guild you could make some friends to do dungeons with!

Garrett ponders this before doing a quick Google search on _how to create a guild in_ _Dragonscape_. It’s a pretty straight forward process: he just needs to find a specific NPC in some major city and grab something called a _guild charter_. He could also just join an already existing guild, but that sounds like meeting too many people at once. If he owns it then he can invite and kick people as he pleases. The ultimate power.

And just like that, Garrett has planned out his exciting evening. Right now, however, it is only one PM and his stomach is reminding him he needs food. He takes out his phone, thumbs through his contacts and decides to shoot Bethany a text. Hopefully she isn’t in class.

_To:_ **_Bethany:)_ ** _[1:10 PM]: you busy? Wanna go get food?_

There is only a few minutes’ pause before she responds.

_From:_ **_Bethany:)_ ** _[1:13 PM]: I’d love to! Come pick me up? I really can’t afford wasting gas money by driving into the city ):_

_To:_ **_Bethany:)_ ** _[1:13 PM]: Be there in a few._

Garrett stands up and stretches, Isabela regards him for half a moment before looking back at the TV. 

“Going somewhere?” she asks.

“Out to grab lunch with Beth. Want anything?” Garrett figures she isn’t hungry since she just got home, but it is polite to ask.

“No, I’m okay. Thanks though,” she confirms his suspicion and Garrett wastes no time in grabbing his keys to head out the door.

The drive to Bethany’s dormitory isn’t a long one, maybe about 20 minutes with traffic. It being too early for anyone to be getting off work but too late for lunch means he doesn’t need to worry about that, though. The roads are decently clear and he arrives earlier than expected.

Bethany is sitting outside her building on her phone, but it’s as if she could recognize the rumble of their dad’s truck anywhere with the way she immediately looks up as Garrett approaches. She seems rather giddy as she climbs into the passenger seat. Very suspect.

“You seem to be in a good mood,” Garrett remarks, side-eyeing Bethany playfully and laying on his best knowing look.

Bethany is quiet for a moment, but her energy is electric and her shy grin is mischievous. “Well, there's this guy-”

Garrett interrupts her with what you could only call a howl and his own excitement meets hers immediately. “Bethy met a boy?! Do tell...”

“I’m trying to!” she scolds, but there is no malice in her tone, “He’s in my religion class. We have a project together and so we’ve been texting. He’s _really_ cute, Garrett. And he’s scottish!”

“And what’s his name?” Garrett asks. He is watching the road, but not sparing Bethany any pointed glances.

“Sebastian,” she says quietly.

As Garrett drives them into the city Bethany continues on about this guy named Sebastian, and the more Garrett hears about him, the lower his expectation of anything actually happening between them becomes. He doesn’t want to tell Bethany his gut feeling, she seems far too enamored, but he knows the longer he waits to bring her back into reality the harder Sebastian is going to fall off of this imaginary pedestal.

Apparently Sebastian is majoring in religious studies and is a very modest dresser. He spends Sundays _and_ Wednesdays at church, but that’s not all. Those are only the days he is _required to be there_ . Bethany also informs Garrett that Sebastian is _so preoccupied with the goings on of his place of worship, that she hasn’t even been able to see him after class to work on the project_.

For one reason or another - probably the fact that Bethany rarely crushes on anyone, and thus acts like a pre-teen when it happens - she cannot seem to connect the weird dots forming around this man.

“Beth, I mean he sounds really nice, but he also sounds like the kind of guy who wears socks in bed,” is all the warning Garrett can bring himself to say in the moment.

Bethany slaps his arm. “Garrett! Stop!” She’s laughing. He’s not.

For the purpose of maintaining his own sanity in regards to not blurting out his feelings on Sebastian, Garrett tunes out all other information on the subject. When they reach Dane’s (Bethany’s favorite sit-in restaurant) the Boy Talk finally ends and Garrett has an opportunity to change the subject.

“So, how are classes going?” he asks as he takes his seat in the booth. 

“They’re going great! I’m keeping my grades up this semester. I think last year I was just overwhelmed. I’m kinda getting used to it now.” Bethany drops her phone into her purse and sets it aside, “Well... as used to it as is humanly possible.”

Garrett smiles and nods, pausing the conversation for the moment as a waitress approaches.

“What can I get you two to drink?” the woman asks with a smile.

“Water is fine for me,” Bethany answers.

Garrett makes a noise of uncertainty as all of the things he likes to drink flash before his eyes. He finally settles on “Sweet tea.”

The woman leaves with a smile afterward and Garrett continues the conversation. “I’m really proud of you, sis,” he says with a tone verging on pride. “You know I brag to Isabela all the time about you.” The look that Garrett gives Bethany as he speaks is cheeky, but it doesn’t take away from his sincerity. 

“You don’t…” Bethany covers her face and giggles quietly.

“Oh I do!” Garrett presses. “Just a little thing here and there, you know. Like ‘hey Bela, have I ever told you my sister is studying _physics_ ? My little sister is going to be a _scientist_.’ She finds it all very impressive.”

“I don’t even know if I’m going to be a scientist, Gare!” Bethany insists and takes a sugar packet from the basket on the table just to throw it at him. Garrett can see he’s flattered her though, made her feel special. That’s always his goal, and when he succeeds it feels as if he’s won an award every time.

It’s not long after that, that the waitress returns with their drinks and takes their food order. The two of them might as well be considered regulars at Dane’s with how often Garrett drags Bethany away from campus to eat with him. This being the case, they both already know what they want without looking at the menu and order accordingly.

Ever since Carver went to basic training, Garrett has been a little overbearing with Bethany at times. He and Carver never got along entirely, but he does miss his brother. And with his mom living thirty minutes (or more, depending on traffic) away, everyone just feels scattered. It makes Garrett a bit sad. He’s never been good with change.

“Have you talked to Carver?” Garrett asks next.

“I’ve written him a couple of times. He says things are going well… You know you could just write him yourself, Garrett.” Bethany raises a brow at him, imposing her disappointment.

“Last time I did his return letter just accused me of teasing him before going on about how _I’m fine, Garrett, I’m not a child,_ ” Garrett puts on his best Carver impression and Bethany giggles.

“You know how he is. He looks up to you, he just wants to wear that strong face in front of his big brother. He cares that you care about him.” Bethany’s tone gets very serious, almost solemn and Garrett knows she’s right.

“Fine, I’ll give it another shot,” he says, stirring his tea to watch the ice cubes spin. He’d rather look anywhere than directly at the woman in front of him gently accusing him of being avoidant of his own brother. There’s that guilt again. 

There is a pleased sound that comes from Bethany, though, when he agrees to write Carver. Garrett spends the rest of their lunch considering what he would even say. Bethany gives him a few pointers but Carver still feels so far away from him. 

When the twins had been toddlers Garrett had gotten praise from their mother for being so good with them, for looking out for them. When they had been kids he had patched their scraped knees and helped dad show them how to take care of farm animals. When they had been teenagers he had tried to protect them from the grief of losing their father. He had tried to chase away the sadness for them so hard that he never found any closure himself. Garrett has always been the type to see the silver lining, or create a silver lining when there is none to be found.

Whether or not he had actually changed the outcome of things back then by being a light in a dark place… He doesn’t know. No one has ever shown him solid proof, but the twins turned out to be good, healthy people and that’s all he was aiming for in the end.

+++

After wrapping up lunch with Bethany, Garrett heads home. When he arrives he finds the living room empty. Boris runs from his bedroom to come and meet him and Garrett gives him some much needed love before he heads to his room. Getting out of the jeans he’s wearing is his first priority. 

When he walks into his room, however, he is met with an interesting sight. Isabela is on his computer. That in and of itself isn’t strange, but she’s playing _Dragonscape_.

Garrett knocks his knuckles against his own door. “Can I come in?” he says and there is a playful twinge to his tone.

Isabela grins over her shoulder. “I got bored earlier so I logged into your game. You’re level twelve now! And look at this robe I got.” She points to the screen.

Garrett walks over to the computer, leaning in to get a good look at Bonkle and his new get up. It is much better than the one he had before, but still pretty ugly. He chuckles before standing upright to shed his flannel overshirt and pull off the Third Eye Blind tee underneath. 

“This game is kinda fun,” Isabella confesses next, “Maybe I should get it. I don’t think I’d want to be a caster, though.”

“Make a rogue,” Garrett suggests and he’s still undressing and redressing himself, “Make her a pirate. That suits your drinking habits.”

Isabela laughs and twists the computer chair to face Garrett. “Okay, but if I do will you wait for me to get to your level? Playing alone is a little depressing.”

“Yeah, sure,” Garrett agrees and Isabela jumps up from her seat to go find her laptop. She brings it back into his room and takes a seat on his bed.

Again, the download takes its time and in the meantime Garrett takes a shower while Isabela ventures into the kitchen to find a snack and an inebriating drink. It being _close enough_ to five o’clock had been her excuse when Garrett mentioned it being closer to three.

After about an hour, though, the game is ready and Isabela creates a female human rogue. When Garrett asks her _why not Qunari?_ She claims that they’re cool, but if she wants to seduce men with her pixels it is imperative that she is not only curvy, but also very cute. The username she chooses is _PirateBela_ because Isabela has never been especially creative, and if she is going to be putting effort into creativity it won’t be for _Dragonscape_.

As Isabela levels through darkspawn, Garrett begins the task of figuring out just how to get to the main city of _Kirkwall_ . Google claims that the NPC he needs for this guild charter business is there, but getting there is a task in and of itself. Running all the way from the starting zone of _Lothering_ is apparently the only option he has. It is a dangerous journey full of monsters that are far stronger than level twelve, and he dies an embarrassing number of times before getting crafty enough to avoid the mobs all together.

He does make it eventually, though, and so begins his next task. He has to navigate this place to find some guild-creating NPC. Everything looks the same to him. White walls mock his very existence at every turn. The map is barely any help to him for the simple fact that looking at it overwhelms his eyes.

Bonkle is hopelessly lost, and also looking rather shabby compared to everyone else around him. Kirkwall seems to be a hub of some sort with champions running to and fro in their fancy gear. Garrett is a bit jealous with how he pales in comparison. 

Twenty minutes of running aimlessly later, Garrett finds the NPC he is looking for, but his luck doesn’t change. Apparently in this game it costs fifty sovereigns to create a guild and upon looking in his bag, Garrett finds he’s amassed together about twenty copper.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Garrett grumbles.

Isabela pipes up from behind him. “What’s up?”

“I need so much money to create a guild. Who are they trying to keep away from companionship?” he says and leans back in his chair, feeling rather defeated.

“Just ask somebody for some,” Isabela offers. “Or scam them.”

Garrett scratches at his beard and then leans forward again. The first character he sees is a dwarf. His model is wearing what looks to be rogue gear and he has a giant crossbow on his back that’s about as big as he is. He looks impressive, and he might be rich.

It takes Garrett a minute to figure out how to personally message someone (it’s called whispering he finds out) and he sends his new friend _Triggerhappy_ a message. The whisper text is a striking blue instead of orange.

_To: [_ **_Triggerhappy_ ** _] : Hey guy, looking good. Very nice weapon, very impressive._

Triggerhappy turns to look at him in-game almost immediately and his model does a little jump toward Bonkle.

_From: [_ **_Triggerhappy_ ** _]: Thanks! [Bianca] is a legendary item, worked really hard for her. You, though. You must be new._

Garrett notices he can click on the text [Bianca] and does so. And while Garrett doesn’t know the first thing about stats, the numbers on the info window are _quite big_.

_To: [_ **_Triggerhappy_ ** _]: Yeah, I just started. Was trying to make a guild, but I don’t have the money_

_From: [_ **_Triggerhappy_ ** _]: Ah, so that’s what this is about._

Garrett frowns at his screen. Did he say something rude? Triggerhappy doesn’t answer for what feels like years instead of minutes. But then, before Garrett can send another message the whisper notification rings in his ears again.

_From: [_ **_Triggerhappy_ ** _]: I’ll tell you what; I’ve been needing a place to store things. This guild’s bank is a thieving free for all. I’ll make the guild and give you permission to invite and kick as you please- but the bank is mine._

Garrett knows a shady pitch when he sees one, but he has no idea why banks are so important as things stand right now. Plus, if it doesn’t work out he can just leave the guild, after all. Nothing is set in stone in _Dragonscape_.

_To: [_ **_Triggerhappy_ ** _]: Deal._

_From: [_ **_Triggerhappy_ ** _]: Beautiful! You won’t regret it._

Triggerhappy’s model does a little fiddling animation and a chest appears before him. He stands in front of that chest for a good while before he finally moves and the **[Merchant’s Guild]** below his name disappears. Shortly after that Garrett is prompted to accept a party invitation, which he does. The chat text is purple now.

[ **Party** ] **Triggerhappy** : Okay, so in order to get this guild going we need four signatures on the guild charter. That’s your job. I’m paying after all. :)

[ **Party** ] **Bonkle** : Sounds fair to me. How do I get them?

[ **Party** ] **Triggerhappy** : Just ask around! Kirkwall is crawling with newbies who need a place to stay. But don’t be aggressive or they’ll just ignore you. Use your charm! I’ll follow you around since I have the charter.

[ **Party** ] **Bonkle** : I have a few friends that might be willing to sign. My friend just started, she’s still in Lothering her name on here is PirateBela

[ **Party** ] **Triggerhappy** : Great, I’ll go get her signature then, I can get out there easy. You keep your eye out for potential recruits in the meantime.

“This guy, uh, Triggerhappy, is coming to get your signature on the guild thing,” Garrett says over his shoulder and Isabela responds with a silent but very heartfelt thumbs up.

Garrett opens Accord next and messages Merrill. She responds enthusiastically to his offer to join his guild and claims she will meet him in Kirkwall on RedDaisy. When she learns his in-game name is Bonkle she conveys her laughing through all-caps and a few laughing emojis. 

He messages Anders next, who had only just responded to Garrett’s message from earlier in the day. It took him over four hours to say “I heal”. Garrett chalks it up to a seven hour difference in time zones and invites him to the guild as well. Anders agrees to log on and meet Bonkle as well, who’s name is less popular with that tough crowd. 

Anders’ name in game is apparently _Harmacist_ and Garrett is reminded of why they ever became friends in the first place. Very silly, very clever.

While waiting for Merrill and Anders to find him, Garrett makes his trek around the main gathering spot of _Kirkwall_. There are so many people in one place it is hard to look at just one person at a time. He knows he is looking for someone who is low level, and with three casters and a rogue in their group, he figures it a good idea to find something else. Maybe a warrior? That sounds reasonable.

Garrett’s cursor hovers over a multitude of possible recruits before landing on a level twenty warrior. His character is an elf, his armor is atrocious and his sword is massive. He is exactly the kind of person Garrett had in mind. And with a username like _LyriumGhost_ , what’s not to love? Garrett could cut himself on that edge, he believes this elf is due a whisper.

_To: [_ **_LyriumGhost_ ** _]: Hey there, looking a little lonely, buddy._

That is what Garrett decides to say, and perhaps it wasn’t the best course of action considering his response is so lackluster.

_From: [_ **_LyriumGhost_ ** _]: ?_

Garrett will not let this man slip away from him. Not after all of the names he’s sifted through to find him.

_To: [_ **_LyriumGhost_ ** _]: You’re guildless! My buddies and I are getting a charter signed so we can all hang out and find the companionship we so desperately crave but we need another signature. How about it?_

_From: [_ **_LyriumGhost_ ** _]: haha. sure, i’ll sign it_

It’s surprising just how easy that was and Garrett is feeling pretty good about himself right now. Life may be trying to mop the floor with him, but in this fantasy world he’s still got it. 

He tells LyriumGhost to wait here with him and their newest elf warrior agrees. Eventually, everyone shows up to sign the charter and when he asks Isabela if she signed she confirms she did. Garrett is the last to sign, and just before he hits accept he sees the guild name _Triggerhappy_ has chosen.

  
Bonkle has joined **[Club Where Everyone Dies]**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Rob (beastdrips) for being my beta reader hehe hoo. I decided to go ahead and post this so soon after the first chapter to flesh things out a bit more while it sits here waiting for me to refine ideas for the next chapters. Definitely not going to be posting a chapter a day in the future


	3. Here Comes the Sun (dodododo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of Garrett thoughts and dogs

It’s early Sunday morning, the sun is just breaking over the city skyline and the February air is crisp and cool. Garrett sits outside on the front step still adorned in pajama pants, a light jacket, and a t-shirt the graphic has long since faded from. If this moment had taken place three years ago when he first moved in, he’d have a cigarette dangling between his fingers, but he quit that habit long ago. Sometime in highschool he had picked up social smoking while attending parties, but after tragedy had struck it had become a crutch and gotten worse and worse, until finally he found himself buying a pack a day. 

It hadn’t been anyone else’s idea for him to quit; his family (although disapproving) had gotten used to it. No, it had been Garrett who had overcome it of his own volition. One night, only a few months after they had moved in together, he and Isabela had gone from a local show at a sketchy venue to an all-night restaurant for dinner at midnight. They spent hours talking, until the tipsiness from their drinks at the concert turned them over to sobriety’s hands. What the conversation had been about is something Garrett doesn’t quite recall, the memory is too far away, but what he does remember is a change.

He and Isabela had returned to the apartment, spent the rest of the night on the couch they still have, and she’d fallen asleep on top of him. Nothing sexual had happened, but back then he hadn’t decided on his feelings for her; he had felt confused and mixed up by the situation, but one thing Isabela did remind him of is that he _wants to be alive_ . Since the beginning, Isabela has been there for him in so many ways. She’s always genuinely cared about his struggles and feelings in her own _Bela_ way. Even at Garrett’s lowest points she has always brought him back to the surface, made sure he stayed a part of all those little moments that remind you you’re living and breathing. 

Garrett has never wanted to _die_ , per se, but there was a time when he didn’t care how long he stuck around. He cares now. Deeply, in fact. That night had been a spark, a little taste of happiness after so much sadness had tried to consume him. It was in the following weeks that he’d quit smoking cigarettes. They cut years off your life, they make you sick. Garrett wants to live a long life, he doesn’t want to hurt himself anymore.

 _Good for you._ Isabela had said when she found out. _Life kicks us enough already, we don’t need to go around kicking ourselves._

These memories bring a smile to Garrett’s face and he sighs as he leans back, propping his weight against his hands. The concrete feels rough against his palms. As things are right now, he thinks maybe he needs another spark. The gnawing feeling of sadness is getting too vivid, welcomed in by stress and the mundane. A few ideas run through his head; he could ask Isabela if she’d like to go out, he could find tickets to a show perhaps. But then the crushing reality of his responsibility to wake up tomorrow morning for work crashes down upon him.

 _Maybe you just can’t force these things_ , he thinks and then stands. Life really isn’t so bad, all things considered. One day Garrett really has to learn to see the silver lining for himself and not just to benefit others.

When Garrett finally heads back inside, Boris greets him enthusiastically. He usually waits to walk Boris during the afternoon or evening, but the apartment is too quiet and dark this morning and as soon as Garrett is back inside he wants to escape it again. So, after changing into sweats and sneakers instead of plaid pajama pants and slippers, he leashes Boris and heads out. The duo is out for about an hour and a half before returning.

The sun has made its full appearance when Garrett and Boris return home and the apartment is far brighter and much more welcoming. Isabela is raiding the kitchen and she greets the two of them.

“Up and about early, huh?” she says while crunching on potato chips. They really need to expand their breakfast menu around here.

“I couldn’t sleep, got up early,” Garrett replies as he frees Boris from his leash and hangs it in its usual spot. Concern flashes across Isabela’s face, but she doesn't pry.

After grabbing a meager breakfast from the kitchen, Garrett heads to his bedroom. Yesterday he and his new guild hadn’t done much in the way of content, but Isabela had caught up to him in level and Triggerhappy had shown them a great spot to grind to level twenty. He had even helped by mowing down huge waves of low level mobs, making the process go by in a matter of just an hour. 

Triggerhappy, Merrill and Anders are all level fifty and have been max level for quite some time. LyriumGhost also claimed to have a level fifty in another guild, so things are shaping up quite nicely for Garrett and Isabela’s new adventure. With all of these experienced people around them how could anything go wrong?

Garrett logs into the game and is greeted by LyriumGhost after a moment.

[ **Guild** ] **LyriumGhost** : hello.

[ **Guild** ] **Bonkle** : hey ghost 

[ **Guild** ] **Bonkle** : whats up

[ **Guild** ] **LyriumGhost:** pvp

[ **Guild** ] **Bonkle:** you’re gonna have to fill me in

[ **Guild** ] **LyriumGhost:** player vs. player. wanna come try it?

After Garrett’s dungeoning track record he’s skeptical about throwing himself at the mercy of other players, but this PVP business does sound better than the monotonous tasks of questing.

[ **Guild** ] **Bonkle:** yea sure

Ghost invites him to a party, but they remain talking in guild chat since there’s no real reason to move the conversation.

[ **Guild** ] **LyriumGhost:** low lvl pvp is pretty casual. no one really cares if you’re good or not.

[ **Guild** ] **Bonkle:** considering my first try at dungeons that’s a relief to hear LOL

[ **Guild** ] **LyriumGhost:**?

[ **Guild** ] **Bonkle:** they basically told me i suck and kicked me from group after the first boss

[ **Guild** ] **LyriumGhost:** haha. yeah, people can be real uptight.

The conversation is interrupted when their queue pops and Garrett finds himself thrust into another new area. According to the loading screen these PVP battles are called _battlegrounds._ The overall idea is simple, fight other players and capture bases. One team’s color is red, the other is blue. At the moment all of the base icons on the map are grey. 

A timer counts them down in big, bold numbers that flash on the screen. Once they hit zero, the gates open and everyone rushes from them. The base closest to their exit is captured first- since no enemies are around to prevent it- and Garrett can see that the other team has done the same when the icon of their closest base turns blue. Since he sees no point in sticking around a well protected flag, he carries on toward the middle. Where Ghost has gone is a mystery in all the chaos.

Unlike with his first dungeon, Garrett finds PVP comes naturally to him, and all that MMO lingo finally starts making sense. Since he is a mage he gets overwhelmed easily by direct damage, but he has enough spells in his arsenal to _kite_ quite effectively. He also has _AoEs_ that _debuff_ and damage whole groups, slowing them and freezing them. Suffice to say, Garrett has never felt more powerful. It is because of his _crowd control_ and _burst damage_ that at least two bases are captured, including the one in the middle. Garrett is oblivious to all of this and is just making it up as he goes, but Ghost is impressed when the ranked results appear on screen at the end of the instance.

[ **Guild** ] **LyriumGhost:** you sure you had no idea what pvp is? lol

[ **Guild** ] **Bonkle:** i’m entirely lost i assure you

[ **Guild** ] **LyriumGhost:** idk if i buy that one, bonkle

Well, that makes Garrett feel pretty good about himself and the two of them continue their PVP journey until Ghost says he needs a break. This leaves them doing nothing in particular, characters standing side by side, while continuing to chat in guild. The conversation spans nearly an hour and in this time Garrett learns Ghost has been playing _Dragonscape_ for quite some time. He has a few characters in another guild called **[Tevinter Imperium]** , but he hasn’t been on good terms with the Guild Master for years. _They’re really hardcore and strict and threatened to kick him for missing just one run_ is all the information Ghost really gives, but that’s enough for Garrett to get on his side of the matter.

+++

Days turn into weeks and those weeks make up a month; a month during which Garrett has logged into _Dragonscape_ more often than not. Lately, though, it’s been less about the game and more about the people he gets to talk to while playing. Isabela logs on quite frequently as well, everyone is getting along and their little friend group has grown quite close. It’s this little change that has made Garrett feel much lighter on his feet.

During work he and Merrill have much more to talk about and she comes into the kitchen as often as possible to goof off. It’s not so often that either of them have gotten in trouble or fail to do their jobs, but it’s enough to take the edge off of his workdays. It’s really starting to feel like the clouds are parting and Garrett can’t wait to see the sun again.

This morning Garrett had the breakfast shift and so this afternoon he is free. Before clocking out at two PM he makes Isabela a club sandwich to bring to her work place. The casino is on the way back to the apartment, so he’s really not going out of his way, but Isabela is all too delighted to see him (and the take-out box in his hand) when he arrives.

“Gare Bear!” she calls from behind the bar and Garrett feels like some sort of Lowtown royalty with the way people look up from their machines to watch him walk down the row. Bells and chimes are coming from nearly everywhere in the building, surrounding Garrett and threatening him with a headache within the first few seconds he’s there.

He and Isabela chat- sort of. She’s busier stuffing her face than keeping conversation. She does, however, call over Aveline so Garrett can see her. One of Garrett’s usual bear hugs ensues and Aveline chuckles before shoving him off.

“Don’t let the patrons see you doing that,” Aveline says and gives Garrett a tired look, “they might think I’ve gone soft.”

“There been a lot of trouble?” he asks.

“Oh you have no idea, Hawke.” she says and leans against the bar. “Isabela and I might as well be attached at the hip.”

Garrett chuckles. “You’ve been rounding up rowdy, grown children since senior year. I guess it’s sort of your calling, huh?”

“Oh God, please don’t say things like that. I’ll toss you out of here next-”

“Wait,” Isabela interrupts and both Garrett and Aveline look at her and her cheek full of food. “Senior year? You knew Aveline in school?”

Garrett nods slowly, “Have I never mentioned-”

Again, Isabela interrupts. “No! Gare, you gotta tell me all about it, what was she like back then? Did she ever wear _pigtails_?” She looks cheekier than Garrett has ever seen her. On his other side, If looks could kill, Garrett would be dead, because Aveline is burning a hole right into his skull with her glare.

The casino suddenly feels very warm.

“Uh, no. No pigtails. I only knew Aveline in highschool,” Garrett says after a pause of consideration. Aveline seems to relax. “We moved here around the same time, she got the job here and referred me to you when I was looking for a roommate.”

Isabela looks skeptical of the summarization and a little disappointed. “So, is that why she calls you _Hawke_ and not Garrett then? Were you in sports?”

“He wasn’t, but most everyone in school called him Hawke, it just fit him better.” Aveline shrugs and looks at Garrett with a slight grin, Garrett returns it. 

Isabela looks between them for a moment, but doesn’t push the subject.

“Well,” Aveline says after a moment, breaking the silence, “I’d better get going, I’m sure I’m needed somewhere. Take care, Hawke.” She gives him another quick hug before turning to leave. 

“I’ll be sure to let you know if I need you again, though I doubt it will be for a pleasant conversation next time,” Isabela says and scoffs. Aveline rolls her eyes before departing. Garrett tells Isabella he’ll see her at home and follows suit soon after.

On his way out Garrett considers that he should really text Aveline and invite her out to do something away from her job. Between how busy she is and the vacation she took they haven’t had much time to be together recently. There’s probably a whole slew of things she has to talk about. He marks her down as another person in his life he’s been neglecting. Like his mom, like-

Carver.

Garrett is all the way to his truck and in the driver’s seat by the time he comes to this realization. He presses his forehead against the steering wheel, effectively honking the horn with his face, and groan. He had agreed to write his brother over a month ago and completely forgot. Carver… What on earth is he going to say to him? Expressing his worry for him got him in trouble last time- or did it? What does Carver even want to hear? It’s so hard to tell with that kid. Garrett has tried to be supportive for as long as he can remember, but despite being a chef at a tiny cafe with barely enough money to buy food of his own, Carver has always put Garrett on a pedestal.

 _What have I accomplished that you haven’t?_ Garrett thinks to himself and he can scarcely recall anything major. Garrett never went to college, hasn’t gotten married, hasn’t had kids- you know, all that _successful adult_ stuff- and he sure as hell didn’t join the military. He has a day job making meatloaf for senior citizens for crying out loud! There’s nothing special about that.

Garrett considers the letter all the way home and when he arrives he asks Boris for advice, but dogs don’t speak and so his questions are asked in vain. A silence falls between him and his beloved companion as he combs his fingertips through Boris’ short fur. How nice it must be to just laze around the house all day rent free, your only troubles being needing outside and wanting food. Boris hardly even hurts for those.

Eventually Garrett forces himself into his room and ignores the urge to just sit and watch television instead. He needs to get this letter written or he’ll just forget again. It takes him a good long while to find his notebook and a pen, but he (unfortunately) does and sits down at his desk to write. Garrett has never been good with words; at least not on paper. Face to face talking comes naturally, charisma and an extroverted nature are his friends. But this? Sappy notes to your little baby brother? Not so much.

It is after many failed attempts that Garrett’s frustrations get the better of him and he decides instead to write something honest instead of sappy.

_Hey Carver_

_I’m not really sure what to say since my last letter came off as condescending instead of heartfelt like I’d hoped, but I wanted to write you anyway so you know I didn’t drop off the face of the earth or something. I guess what I’d really like you to know is that I'm proud of you, and maybe a little worried, too, but that’s not because I don’t think you’ll succeed. I know you don’t need me like you did when you were a kid, but still, that doesn’t stop me from caring and I guess by extension worrying. Anyway, I hope you’re doing alright and not giving your superiors the kind of shit you give me, asshole._

_-Garrett_

Garrett frowns at the page for a moment before heaving a sigh and folding it as neatly as he can. He fetches an envelope, stuffs the letter inside, scribbles down the address in penmanship he _hopes_ the post office can read, and then puts it in the mailbox for tomorrow morning. 

Despite the whole ordeal being unsatisfactory, Garrett feels a weight lift from his shoulders once it’s done, which leaves him feeling much less guilty about having the rest of the afternoon to himself. He takes this time to sit and watch some television until his phone buzzes with an Accord message. It’s from Merrill.

**Daisy**

You know Garrett I’ve been thinking, we should create a guild Accord to talk to everyone

I created a server already and named it after the guild, I can make you a mod of it :)

Below her messages there is a link to join an Accord server, Garrett hits join and it adds him to the general chat. To the right Garrett can see the member list consisting of Varric, Ghost, Daisy, Anders and himself. Process of elimination leads him to the conclusion that Varric must be Triggerhappy in-game. Everyone is offline aside from Merrill, who greets him, and Garrett changes his name to _Bonkle_ because that’s much more entertaining than _Garrett_. Merrill thinks so too.

**Daisy**

I can’t get over that name… Bonkle. Why did you choose it?

**Bonkle**

It was randomly generated LOL

**Daisy**

LMAO

Well its very good :)

OH we also need to add Bela to the server ASAP!

**Bonkle**

Will do. She’s at work right now

Scrolling up in the chat Garrett can see people have been talking away while he was at work. The messages are mostly about _Dragonscape,_ but there are a few that deviate the subject. Apparently Varric is offline because he is hosting some sort of meet-and-greet dinner party. Garrett isn’t entirely sure what that entails, but it sounds high-end and fancy. What’s a guy like him doing playing a game like _Dragonscape_? Then again, he supposes he could be wrong and maybe ‘dinner party’ is just a fancy term for inviting friends over. He has been known to embellish facts for entertainment’s sake in the past.

For now, though, with everyone offline Garrett doesn’t feel much like logging into the game. He’s still a bit too new to the experience to confidently do anything other than quest on his own, and so he decides Boris is due a walk. But perhaps this time he’ll take him to the dog park? It is a lovely spring day, after all, and Boris could probably use some time with other dogs.

After grabbing a snack from the kitchen, Garrett leashes him up and heads out. The dog park is too far away to walk there, at least after a full morning of work, so instead they drive. Boris is all too excited to be in the car, sticking his head out the window in bliss.

When the two of them arrive Garrett takes a seat on a nearby shaded bench and unhooks Boris from his leash. The area is small and fenced and Boris is incredibly smart and isn’t one to wander far, so it’s a safe bet to let him have a little freedom. To show his appreciation, Boris rolls around in the grass in front of Garrett and makes all manner of happy rumbling noises. As expected, he doesn’t venture far from Garrett, but all it takes is one moment of being distracted by his phone for Garrett to lose Boris for a panicked second. 

Garrett scans the area, feeling relief when he spots Boris just a short distance away playing with what looks to be two puffy clouds. They are just as big as he is and the three of them are exchanging dog greetings. Just to be safe, Garrett rises from his spot on the bench and heads over. The samoyeds turn out to be incredibly friendly and they trot over to Garrett along with Boris to get much desired human affection. When he kneels down, Garrett is momentarily overwhelmed with wagging tails and tongues on his face until a sharp whistle breaks up the comotion.

“Sorry about that!” A voice chimes from his left and he looks up to see a man jogging towards them. He has an incredibly well groomed beard topped by a styled mustache that’s loosely curled up toward his pale blue eyes. It almost makes Garrett feel his beard is unkempt in comparison. 

“It’s fine. These two puffballs yours?” Garrett asks as he stands. 

“They sure are!” The man responds and the way the two samoyeds pine for his attention at his feet confirm it. “Kilian,” he says next and extends his hand.

“Garrett,” Garrett greets and shakes the offered hand. Kilian has a very solid grip.

“This is Alaska,” Kilian gestures to the cloud with the black and silver collar, “and this is Whipped Cream,” he then gestures to the cloud with the gold and white collar. Their collars are really the only way to tell them apart aside from the spots on their noses. 

“They’re gorgeous dogs,” Garrett confresses, “purebred?”

Kilian nods with enthusiasm. “Yep! And who is this?” He gestures to Boris.

“Oh, this is Boris. He’s some sort of pit mix, I think. He’s a rescue, so I’m not sure.” Garrett leans down to give Boris a scratch on the head. 

“Ah, a rescue, huh? I’ve had my fair share of those, these two are the first I’ve gotten from a breeder. I’ve had Alaska for about three years now, got Whipped Cream about a year after him.” As Kilian talks he kneels and dotes on his dogs, it makes Garrett smile to see someone care so much for their pets. 

The conversation continues for a while after and Garrett and Kilian leash their dogs to exit the fenced area. They walk around the park with their three companions leading the charge. Boris seems to get along quite well with Alaska and Whipped Cream and Kilian seems to be the agreeable sort himself. When they finally part ways, Kilian offers his number to Garrett (while insisting it’s not to flirt as he already has someone waiting at home for him) and proclaims they should get together again sometime, seeing as their dogs became such good friends. Garrett pockets the number and they say their farewells. 

As Garrett and Boris walk back to where the truck is parked, Garrett feels a lightness in his chest. _It really is the little things, like dogs and sunny weather and good company_ he thinks to himself and in that moment everything feels okay. 

+++

That evening Garrett winds down before bed by logging into _Dragonscape_. Before booting it up he checks the guild Accord and sees that only one person is online; Ghost. Throughout this last month Garret and Ghost have become pretty good friends. Perhaps not the closest since Ghost is rather reserved, but they do enjoy playing the game together. Tonight they decide to get new gear for Garrett, but after a while of trying to type and fight, Garrett decides it would be easier for them to call on Accord and talk. When Garrett offers this, Ghost agrees.

It’s always a bit awkward talking to someone for the first time when you can’t see their face, so all Garrett offers is a curt _hey_ after Accord announces Ghost’s presence in voice chat. What Garrett is greeted with in return is one of the nicest voices he’s ever heard and for a moment he’s at a loss of what to say. Garrett isn’t sure what kind of voice he expected since he’s only ever seen Ghost’s character in game, but it still surprises him just how deep and raspy it is. It’s treating his ears very nicely. 

“Jesus Christ,” Garrett says without really thinking about it.

A Curious hum comes from Ghost on the other end of the call. “Hm?”

“You announce movies with a voice like that? Maybe do whiskey commercials on the side?”

Ghost laughs at Garrett’s joke and it sends him reeling. He leans back in his chair and pinches the bridge of his nose. How long has it been since he’s been with someone? Long enough that just a nice voice sends his heart aflutter, apparently. What kind of face is attached to a sound like that? It would be criminal for him to be anything less than stunning. 

“Nothing so flashy,” Ghost says, amused, “try working IT.”

“A damn shame, what a waste,” Garrett teases and Ghost exhales an amused scoff.

The conversation devolves into talking about their tasks in the game and Garrett’s sudden increased heart rate calms. He all but forgets his initial attraction as his attention is stolen by game mechanics and the like. In fact, he becomes so absorbed that the minutes turn into hours behind his back and when he looks at the clock again it is almost midnight. 

“Gettin’ late, it’s almost midnight” Garrett mutters and taps the spacebar to make his character jump on screen.

“It is. You live on the west coast, too, then?” Ghost asks.

“Nevada,” Garrett responds before yawning.

“Ah, I live in Washington State. Not too far away.”

Garrett raises his eyebrows at his screen. That really isn’t far away at all, just north a bit. Out of all the places Ghost could be from he turns out to practically be Garrett’s neighbor. 

“You have work tomorrow?” Ghost asks next.

“Yeah, it’s the morning shift, too,” Garrett says with a groan of disapproval. “They’ve scheduled me mornings all week.”

A gentle sound of disgust is Ghost’s answer before he says “I’m on a fixed schedule. Noon to eight.” 

“No turn around shifts then? Lucky you.” Garrett teases and Ghost chuckles.

“Where do you work?”

“A little cafe in the city. I’m the head chef there, but it’s not as glamorous as it sounds.”

“A chef?” Despite Garrett’s insistence to the contrary, Ghost sounds as if he finds that position impressive. “So you cook… That’s something I never really got good at.”

“I wasn’t good at it either, I learned on the job,” Garrett confesses, “these days though? My family has me cooking for every occasion. Thanksgiving is my worst enemy.”

Another hum comes from Ghost and Garrett is learning that’s sort of this guy’s queue to let you know he’s listening, but has nothing to say. He’s been doing it all night, only carrying conversation here and there. Compared to Garrett and his endless chatter, Ghost is a mute.

From there the talking simmers until goodnights are said and the two of them go offline. Garrett is left with an odd feeling of attraction and he doesn’t really have anywhere solid to place it. It’s shallow and means nothing, really, but he supposes being attracted to a voice isn’t exactly uncommon. It just feels odd to not have a face to go with it. He could technically ask Ghost for a picture, but that seems a little too forward and strange for someone as reserved as him. All in all, though, the tiniest bud of a crush is a much more welcome feeling than the gloom and doom Garrett had felt before.

Pulling himself up from his seat, Garrett shuts off his computer to go get ready for bed. Tomorrow threatens him with another work day, but it also promises time with people he’s really starting to care about. Merrill, as usual, had made a good call with _Dragonscape_ and Garrett retires thinking about how he’ll have to thank her in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gave me a little bit of trouble, but I eventually got it done! A cameo of my OC Kilian was requested, and so he's here feat. his two fluffy clouds. Thank you rob (beastdrips) for beta reading this out loud to me in David Attenborough's voice like it was an episode of Planet Earth

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my wonderful fiance Beastdrips aka Rob! He re-read this for me so many times and helped me fix my mistakes. Much love to him ;)


End file.
